A New Hope
by Relient
Summary: Part 2 of the Time and Again Trilogy; As the war ensues, the five take an active role within it, aiming to tip the favour on behalf of the group opposing Megatron. As the planet's forgotten history is uncovered, a name arises to stand up against Megatron
1. Intro

A New Hope

Full Summary

The Third Great War's upon them and the five have prepared long for it, taking an active role within the midst of both faction, their plan was to turn the tide of this war in favour of those who would come to be known as Autobots in the near future. Starscream and Soundwave start by interfering in Megatron's plans for recruiting more mechs while simultaneous trying to gain Intel for the Autobots. Meanwhile Prowl, Sideswipe and Ratchet work within the confines of the Resistance forces, conveying Decepticon Intelligence and pushing the discovery of the line of Primes and their keepsake forward in an attempt to even the odds of the battles that they knew would come.

Disclaimers:

I do not own any part of the Transformers franchise, they belong to Hasbro and Takara.

Author Notes:

Second in the Time and Again trilogy. If you have not the read the first one, you might want to in order to know the how's, why's, when's, where's, etc. I use a multitude of characters in this arc and I will have all OC characters up on this chapter if and when I introduce them.

I have actually had to integrate Bay's butchered storyline into mine *cries* and everyone knows about the plot holes in Dark of the Moon. I have changed names here and there because of major plot hole since the names been thrown in the comics as something else. I will try my best to explain everything.

Please R & R, even if it's bad reviews, tells a person if it's worth continuing or not.

Units of Time:

Klik - Cybertronian equivalent of a second

Breem - Cybertronian equivalent of a minute

Joor - Cybertronian equivalent of a hour

Orn - Cybertronian equivalent of a full day

Stellar Cycle - Cybertronian equivalent of a week

Decivorn - Cybertronian equivalent of a month

Vorn - Cybertronian equivalent of a year

Speech:

"blah…" - Cybertronian

"**blah…**"** - **English

::blah…:: - Bonds

"_blah…_" - Comm or flashback

Original Characters:

**Bolt**

Age: 93 vorns

Colour: Gray Silver

Type: Beast - Wolf

Specialty: Tracker, Hunter, Scout

**Glint**

Age: 50 vorns

Colour: Red/White

Type: Beast - Jaguar

Specialty: Medic, Tracker

**Stridek**

Age: 82 vorns

Colour: Purple

Type: Beast - Bat

Specialty: Spy, Surveillance

**Menace**

Age: 69 vorns

Colour: Blue/White

Type: Beast - T-Rex

Specialty: Warrior, Interrogations

**Gufo**

Age: 78 vorns

Colour: Gray

Type: Beast - Owl

Specialty: Information Control, Hacker

**Seidon**

Age: 56 vorns

Colour: Black/White

Type: Beast - Tanuki

Specialty: Saboteur, Espionage


	2. Prologue

Prologue:

Every race has what's commonly referred to as a Golden Age in the history of their civilization, and Cybertron was not indifferent in this regard. Spanning over two hundred vorns, the Golden Age came at the end of the Second Great War, during which many metropolitans flourished across Cybertron, each city specializing in a different sector of trade or service. A council known as the Council of Elders, formed within the last orns of the previous Prime, was tasked with overseeing the development and maintenance of peace between these cities and their populace. Two successors came to rise, chosen by the current leader Sentinel Prime, as the planet's inhabitants were unconsciously split into two divisions; military and civilian. High Protector Megatron was deemed as Cybertron's protector and leader of the defense forces while his brother Optimus, was given the duties as leader of the science division and civilian sectors.

Many felt this era could last forever but even within this epitome of peace, there were those who wished for power and destruction as they believed their race had gone weak in this time of peace. Some harbored anger towards the council for unjust decisions made through their bias against what they commonly referred to as military builds. Eventually, this era of peace slowly came to an end as those with power used their position to fuel their own agendas, trying to take full control of the populace, thus spreading corruption amongst the governing forces.

History repeats itself on Cybertron with the mysterious disappearance of Sentinel Prime and his ship called the Sabre, giving way for a new leader, and ultimately, war for this leadership ensued. One mech, who felt he was the rightful leader of not just Cybertron, but the entire universe, gathered others through manipulation and lies under the influence of an ancestor and stood to take control of Cybertron. High Protector Megatron introduced his new forces as the Decepticons and destroyed anything or anyone who stood against him and his cause. Driven by hate and jealousy, he persuaded his followers by the maxim that they are superior beings and masters of their own fate, implying that it was their destiny to rule the universe instead of having peace and co-operation with folks he deemed weaker life forms. Those who he could not convert to his side were turned against their will, through the use of a device known as the Robo-Smasher, which permanently reprogrammed a Transformer as a Decepticon.

However, there was a group of mechs who rose up against the Decepticon cause. Lead by Megatron's brother and rival Optimus, these mechs stood for freedom and peace with a standing maxim that freedom is the right of all sentient beings. Consisting of mainly the mechs of the old science division and few from the defense forces who disagreed with Megatron, they fought against the Decepticons even as they were outmatched and outgunned. As fierce as the Decepticons were, this new group of mechs had two things on their side; one was the fact that their leader was in fact the last of the Dynasty of Prime, a true leader and warrior. But his lineage would only be found much later, through the excavations of ancient relics depicting the symbols of the line of Primes, rightful leaders of Cybertron. Two, there was someone out there who had been mysteriously helping them out whenever they either needed something or were about to lose a skirmish against the Decepticons. From Intel to strategies, resources and even recruits, someone was helping these new mechs out, now known as the Resistance. Several mechs had been cited to date but none had physically appeared in front of any members of the Resistance, and if they did appear, they were always in the shadows where no one could see them. Who these mechs were, no one knew but as long as they were on their side, it didn't matter much; they could use all the help available against the Decepticons and after sometime, the Resistance started referring to them as the Knights of Cybertron.

* * *

><p><em>Iacon - High Council Tower<em>

One didn't get called to the council tower unless there was a matter of great importance to discuss; but here was Optimus, standing within the wreckage of what was once known as the Council Chambers within the High Council Tower. This tower was the central seat for the Council, whose members were assassinated only a few joors ago by Megatron's forces. What baffled the mech most was the fact that they had not received any Intel regarding Megatron's plans to attack the council. This was a bold move on his part, striking almost at the heart of Iacon which was now home to the resistance. The alarming part about this was the fact that it was one mech and his group of five responsible for the attack. Soundwave had proven to be a formidable opponent in the area of Special Ops, proving that he and his group are very capable of infiltrating any part of Iacon, even though, the mech himself would not show as his main area of expertise is Communications, but his five minions were trained in espionage, sabotage and assassination. They were able to easily side step the Cybertronian Elite Guards who guarded the council chambers without rendering them inert. Granted, the Elite Guard now was only a mere skeleton of the old force, they were still the most trained and skilled fighters, and to be bested on this level, left a crushing blow to what was left of their name and honour within Cybertron.

"They did a number on the council, not a single mech was left online but Aid's still checking. Those bugs were pretty thorough with their job, slipped past the guards like they weren't even there," Ironhide commented as he walked up to his leader. Now there's a story to be heard; Ironhide, the great warrior of the old Thetacon tribe, was now part of the Resistance. Always grumbling about inexperienced recruits, he became one of the only three combat instructors within the Resistance, teaching all those who wished to learn the art of combat. When Megatron declared the Decepticons as the new military force on Cybertron, no one would have thought that the old, gruff, war-hardened warrior would join the ranks of the Resistance. But, even though he had been a part of the military, his friendship with Optimus had always been cherished from the moment the two had met. He did not believe any of the lies Megatron had fed when he declared Optimus and his followers traitors, instead seeking out his friend to find out the truth.

"Tell me about it, these guys probably didn't know what hit'em," Jazz grumbled beside the bigger mech, "what I want to know is how they got past the guards?" Previous head of the Specialized Units Department within the Security Force, Jazz was an invaluable asset to the Resistance as their Intel gatherer and saboteur. The mech had been working alongside Optimus for many vorns and joined up with a few members from his original team, together making up the Special Operations team within the Resistance. His team consisted of six mechs who were more than capable of handling any situation thrown at them solo. Others from the same detail had also joined, most notably Prowl, who used to be the head of the Security Force, along with Red Alert who was their chief of security and fellow Praxian, Smokescreen.

"Why did we not receive any Intel regarding this, there should have been something said during one of Megatron's many meetings with his command crew. Not to mention, Meister did not give us any information regarding this and I highly doubt that this type of information would ever slide by him."

Ironhide was about to respond to Optimus' question when he noticed a figure on a nearby window sill, watching them as they cleared the chambers. "Look up top there," Ironhide whispered to the two around him, signaling towards the form. Puzzled by the warrior's statement, Optimus and Jazz looked were directed only to see a small figure, hiding within the darkened corner of the sill. The figure moved into the light partially when he noticed the mechs attention on it; covered in lustrous silver plating almost shimmering in the light with patches of gray here and there, it looked to be a hellhound of some sort. Clear cobalt optics gazed straight at the leader as he walked towards the mysterious creature, watching every move like a hawk watches its prey. Upon closer inspection, it seemed the creature was carrying something which was flung at the Resistance leader before it disappeared off the sill.

Optimus bent down to pick up the item, "Who was that?"

Jazz decided to step in and answer the question, "That" he said pointing towards the sill "would be one of the Knights and that," pointing at the object in Optimus' servo "is new Intel from Meister," offering his servo, palm facing upwards in a gesture indicating that he would like to take a look at the data disk. Optimus wordlessly passed the disk over to the saboteur, leaving him to access the information on it. But still, he was curious as to the identity of the messenger as he had yet to encounter any of the mysterious mechs or those that helped them. He was grateful for their assistance but couldn't help feel that there was something very wrong about them. They had information that was very hard to obtained or was otherwise entirely unknown. Coupled with the fact that no one knew anything about them and there weren't any records tied to their names. The mechs were definitely using aliases and that made Optimus wonder what their real intentions were, why would they hide themselves in such a fashion if they were helping the Resistance.

Jazz noticed Optimus' lingering gaze towards the sill, "What's wrong Optimus?" he inquired, curious as to what his leader was thinking of. Embarrassed at being caught staring, Optimus waved him off, mumbling a nothing as he turned to get a report from First Aid as to the state of the council members. Filing the moment away for later scrutiny, Jazz turned back to the sill thinking about what this new information they had been handed was regarding.

"Don't worry, he just has a lot on his processor. He'll come around when the time comes, you just gotta be there when he does," Ironhide commented, patting Jazz's shoulder plating. Nodding at the warrior, the two walked towards their leader just in time to hear the tail end of First Aid's report.

"There was nothing anyone could have done for them, by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late to act, let alone defend themselves," First Aid said, shaking his helm at the poor mechs who didn't have a chance to survive this attack. "I found claw marks on a few of them along with bite marks, consistent with Ravage's pattern. It seems as though the twins were present also," First Aid sighed.

"So…what happens now?"

The mechs turned around to see Ultra Magnus walking up to them. The look on the mech's faceplate was one of despair; as City Commander, it was his duty to protect the inhabitants of Iacon and yet he was unable to save the members of the Council. Coupled with the fact that no one noticed the Decepticons suggested that they had a spy amongst them. This did not bode well with him and he needed to get to the bottom of it before anything more could happen.

"Do not worry old friend, we will find out how this happened," Optimus said, hoping it would bring some comfort to the commander.

"I know Optimus, it's just unnerving that they were able to get past highly trained guards as if they weren't even there. This is going to turn messy once the public finds out exactly what happened. They will lose faith on the Elite Guard and worse of all, us."

"It won't come to that, we'll figure something out," First Aid said reassuringly.

"These guys are getting more vicious by the orn, we need to do something about it and fast," muttered Jazz.

Optimus nodded at the Ops mech, "We'll discuss it with Prowl once we get back. For now, let's clear this place up and return to base."

* * *

><p><em>Decagon - Resistance Base<em>

Wheeljack was enjoying a nice, quiet walk down the hallway of the base towards his labs; a datapad containing information on a new invention he was working on one servo, and a cube of energon on the other. Humming to himself, Wheeljack came up to a junction but was so engrossed in reading the contents of the datapad that he failed to notice the twins headed straight for him. Fortunately, Sideswipe noticed the engineer and shouted just in time to avoid a crash, "Coming through!"

"Get back here you fraggers!" Ratchet yelled as he chased the two.

The engineer looked up, only to pivot on his left pede in an attempt to avoid the twins while holding up his cube trying to keep the contents from spilling, "Watch where your going!" he sputtered as the two ran by. "Younglings…" mumbled the engineer before turning back towards the direction he was previously headed, only to be hit on the helm by a flying wrench as Ratchet came around the corner. The twins paused in their escape just in time to hear the engineer utter Ratchet's name before he went down, datapad and energon spilling around him. There was a moment of stunned silence before Ratchet's faceplates turned to a look of anger, directed at the twins.

Ratchet simply pointed at Wheeljack, "Medbay, NOW!"

"We are so scrapped," Sideswipe mumbled to his twin as the two decided it was time to face the music. Bowing their helms, the two begrudgingly shuffled forward to pick the engineer up and head towards the Medbay, Ratchet stalking behind them while running his entire vocabulary of curses at them. Mechs passing by them could only look upon the twins with sympathy as they knew what lay in wait for anyone who royally pissed off the medic. Ratchet's anger was infamous within the Resistance and any mech who knew him, knew never to test his patience. Not only was he known for his anger, he was also famous for his bad berthside manner, especially with those who repeatedly found themselves in his domain, such as the twins. But still, everyone knew that the medic had a soft spot for them, even if most of the time he was throwing wrenches at them while chasing them down the hallways of their base.

As the doors to the Medbay parted, the twins noticed someone by the nearest berth before groaning as they realized who it was. At their groan, the mech turned around to face the four, a disappointed look on his faceplates. Nodding to Ratchet, he stepped aside to allow the twins to place Wheeljack on the berth. Ratchet turned to the new mech, grumbling before checking Wheeljack for the damage he had caused, "the moment your done with them, I want them back in my Medbay and not a klik later".

With the threat lingering in the air, the mech could only nod at the CMO before motioning the twins. Moaning once again, the two followed the mech towards his office, already knowing what he had install for them. This was an every orn occurrence for the twins but rarely did they get another mech involved in their pranks. The punishment this time would be more severe than all the other times.

::We're worse than scrap now, we'll never see anything outside the brig walls ever!:: Sideswipe wailed at his brother.

::Will you shut up! We haven't even said anything in our defense and your running your vocalizer like a little sparkling,:: the ever calmer twin bit back. Note though, this isn't the case when it comes to meeting other mechs. Nope, that Sunstreaker usually loses his temper and gets into a brawl with someone or the other. In those situations, Sideswipe was the calmer twin instead of Sunstreaker, _Oh how the roles are reversed_, thought the yellow twin.

Sideswipe took a moment to think upon what his twin just said before asking, ::What are we going say to make him believe us?::

::That we just happened to walk into the Medbay because we were looking for Ratchet but instead we found his tool glued to the ceiling. Unfortunately, said medic walked in at that moment and automatically assumed we were the ones that glued his tools-::

::And even though we tried to explain, Ratchet got mad and we made a run for it, running into Wheeljack on accident in the process, brilliant!:: Sideswipe cheered, subtly pumping his fist in the air. The mech they were following caught the action, and arched a brow at them, but Sideswipe simply turned his helm away quickly, whistling while pretending to be looking at something else. Casting a suspicious look on the twins, the mech turned around and resumed their journey to his office. Even though his back was facing the twins, he had somehow registered the motion, which the red twin found creepy.

The walk to their destination was shorter than the twins had hoped as they figured this might be the end of whatever freedom they were ever going to get. Entering the mech's office, they waited for said mech to be seated behind his desk before the twins went off on a talking spree, voicing their put together story, "Prowl, look we didn't do it honest-" Sunstreaker started out.

"Yea, we just went to the Medbay to ask Ratchet something-" Sideswipe continued. From here on the twins simply took turns to finish each other's sentence.

"And we found his tools glued to the ceiling-"

"We didn't know who did it but before we could call anyone-"

"Ratchet walked in and figured we did it, got mad-"

"And then he started chasing us, and started throwing wrenches at us-"

"And we didn't know Wheeljack was going to be there when we turned the corner-"

"But I tried to warn him and we didn't crash into him right-"

"But then Ratchet hit him with his wrench!" the twins finished together, finally giving Prowl a moment to speak.

Prowl simply looked from one twin to the other, knowing his silence was making them uncomfortable as they were fidgeting. As the silence reigned on, the twins finally couldn't stand it anymore, "Say something Prowl," Sideswipe pleaded. A slight smile formed on the tactician's faceplates, one that most mechs would never notice but the twins had seen it often to know what it meant.

* * *

><p><em>Resistance Base - The Brig, few breems later<em>

The energy bars went up as soon as Sunstreaker stepped through the threshold of the cell he would be staying in for the next stellar cycle.

"I told you we were doomed, he never believed us from the start. He led us on to think that he actually believed us. Whose idea was it to leave a tactician incharge!" Sideswipe whined as he threw his servos up in the air in exasperation.

"Quit your whining already!" Sunstreaker snapped, remembering everything that had just happened in Prowl's office.

_~ flashback ~_

_At the sight of the smile, the twins knew they were as good as slag. But they were taken aback by what Prowl said next, "I believe you."_

_"You do?" questioned Sunstreaker, staring wide optic at the tactician._

_"Yes I do. Do I have a reason not to?" inquired the black and white mech._

_Sideswipe immediately cut in, "No, no not at all. Everything we said is true, we were there when-"_

_"WEREN'T" hissed Sunstreaker._

_"I mean weren't, weren't ah there when whoever did that to poor old Ratchet's tools," Sideswipe finished sheepishly._

_"Hmm very well then, I will inform Ratchet of the situation. I'm sure he will be delighted to know that this time it wasn't you two playing a prank on him," the tactician said before turning to his screen._

_The twin let out a sigh of relief as they turned to leave the office with identical smirks on their faceplates. As they reached the door though, their worst nightmare came true._

_"But, before you go I'd like for you to look at something for me," Prowl turned his consol screen towards the twins and as they turned around, they watched in horror the screen replay their actions in the Medbay. "You see, Red Alert had to up his security and decided to put in new security cameras around the base, including the Medbay."_

_There, on his consol, were the twins giggling away as they glued each one of Ratchet's tools to the ceiling. "This is going to be Epic," the Sideswipe on camera happily commented, "Yea, I can't wait to see the look on Hatchet when he sees this!" replied an equally delighted Sunstreaker. Great! Their conversation was also on record as it seemed Red Alert had put microphones to go along with his cameras. The twins looked at each other before yelling together, "We can explain!"_

_"I'm sure you can," was all the reply they received._

_~ flashback ~_

Growling at the memory, Sunstreaker cursed the tactician for his battle computer. Even though it was meant to be used for battle and strategies, Prowl had no problem using it for other purposes. In the past, they could easily get away with their pranks but now with Prowl and Red Alert, it seemed they were getting caught more than actually carrying out the prank. But this didn't deter the two, it just meant they had to get better at the game, which meant besting Prowl.

* * *

><p><em>Resistance Base - Control Tower<em>

Prowl stepped into the Control Tower, slightly exhausted from yet another orn of dealing with the twins. No other mech could test his patience like those two could, but still he had yet to lose all of his patience on them. He had to hand it to them, they were simple minded enough to think that he would actually believe their story seeing as the only other prankster on base was Jazz and he was away with Optimus. Plus, it was highly unlikely that Jazz would ever get caught in the act, not with his Special Ops training, something the twins were lacking in.

With the barest hint of a smile, he walked up to the mech on duty, which was none other than Tracks; who, Prowl saw, instead of doing his duty which was monitoring the security cameras, was too busy polishing his armor and had missed Prowl's entrance. Sighing, Prowl silently walked up to the mech before announcing his presence, "Ahem."

Tracks all but fell out of his chair, polishing cloth floating down onto his helm. He looked up at Prowl with surprise, "don't do that!" he yelled, not at all concerned at the fact that he was caught slacking by a superior officer.

"Are you not on monitor duty Tracks?" Prowl asked calmly.

Tracks simply gave the mech a bored look while getting back on his pedes, "Your point?"

"My point is that monitor duty entails watching the monitors, not sitting around polishing your armor. You're on duty and the expectation is that you do your duty which is to monitor the perimeter."

Tracks just snorted, picking up the polishing cloth and going back to polishing the plating on his forearm. "Come on Prowl, everyone knows the cons are not going to attack us at home base. They don't have the backplates for that, you know that," Tracks said, looking up at the tactician.

Prowl simply folded his arms over his chestplates, "And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"Seriously?" the blue mech inquired sarcastically, "Who, in their right processor, would attack an enemy's fortified base? That's just suicide, there's no way they would be dumb enough to try that."

Exasperated with the mech, Prowl merely gave the mech a look implying he wasn't convinced and held out his servo for the cloth. Tracks sighed before grudgingly handing the cloth to the SIC, grumbling about stiff tacticians with a stick up his aft. The comment didn't have any effect on Prowl however as he was used to mechs saying such things when he would throw down the rule book. His duty was the safety of crew and the success of their battles against the Decepticons; socializing was last on his list of things to do.

"Now that we have that cleared up, I need you to contact Optimus and find out the progress of his team, they've been gone longer than they should have."

Tracks swiveled his chair towards the screen at the command, about to contact their leader but then noticed a group of mechs at the main gates, "Don't think we need to, they're back", Tracks said motioning towards the screen. Prowl simply nodded before promptly leaving the room to meet up the group.

* * *

><p><em>Borders of Kalis<em>

A lone figure bounded across the streets of Kalis, a thriving metropolitan home to some of Cybertron's largest Energon Refinery and the only subsurface fusion reactor on the planet. Built over the planet's large propulsion engines, Kalis remained for the most part deserted due to the fact of where the city was built. If these engines were ever activated, it would mean the destruction of the entire region of Kalis, thus being the perfect location to house a secret base. The being weaved through the back alleys, blending into the surrounding darkness as it made its way to its destination. Sensors on high, it made sure no one was following before turning down the route that would take it to its home. As it sprinted down the alley, another figure soared down, flying a few mechanometers off the ground, joining it. Not fazed at all by the sudden appearance of this new figure, the two made their way to their destination, which turned out to be an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

As they entered the building, they walked over to the farthest wall from the entrance. Large machinery, which were laid out on the ground, disappeared as the two approached it making way for a hidden platform leading underground. The two stepped onto the platform, activating it and was transported underground to the base that lay below. The journey down was short and as the platform came to a stop, they found themselves in a hanger. Moving past the various vehicles and machinery, they made their way down the hallway towards the Command Centre, signs on the wall indicating it was down the left corridor. As they entered, the sole occupant of the room looked up from his screen to greet them, "Welcome back Bolt, Gufo."

Whining a bit, the cyber wolf Bolt made his way over to the mech, nuzzling the outstretched palm with affection, "I take it your mission was a success," the mech said with a small smile. Seeing the attention her sibling was receiving, Gufo flew over and made herself comfortable on said mech's shoulder plating, poking the mech with her metallic beak. The mech just laughed good naturedly before stroking her metallic feathers fondly, "Well, good job you two, you might get something to do again depending on what Sideswipe brings back from his mission. Come, let's go to the Rec Room and get some energon."

The mech set up the perimeter alarms and traps before the trio left the Command Center, heading for the Rec Room which was only a few doors down the other corridor. As they walked down, Bolt decided to sprint on ahead in order to see who was in the Rec Room, hoping to maybe find his creator. The room was decent size and more or less sparse, with only a couch, a table with five chairs and the Energon Dispenser. As he walked in, he noticed two things immediately; one, his creator was not present which meant that either he was in their quarters, or out on a mission. And two, there was a big blue and white blob snoring away on the sofa. Smirking at the opportunity which presented itself, the wolf trotted over to the front of the couch quietly. Once directly in front of it, he slowly counted to three, bracing himself on his hind legs before pouncing on the unfortunate mech. Screaming like a little girl, the mech fell off the couch, flat on his faceplates, "Owwie" moaned the mech.

Snickering at the his discomfort, Bolt simply made himself comfortable in the spot the blue and white mech had previously occupied, "Stop picking on Ace, Bolt. You know it's not nice to pick on your younger siblings."

Bolt looked up to see the mech from the Command Centre walk in, with Gufo still on his shoulders. The mech walked over to Menace, lifting the baby sized t-rex up and placing him next to Bolt on the couch, patting the t-rex's helm before continuing on towards the dispenser. The t-rex just cast the wolf a dirty look before flopping back down on his front and slipping into recharge.

The doors to the Rec Room parted again, admitting in a tired figure; Prowl looked at the two on the couch before a smile formed on his faceplates as he walked up to the sofa, "Hello Bolt" he greeted the wolf.

"Prowl!" Bolt exclaimed, hoping off the couch towards the tactician. Prowl scratched the wolf behind his audios before going over to the other mech, Bolt trailing behind. "Thanks Screamer," he said as Starscream handed him a cube of energon.

The seeker sighed in frustration, "Why do you people insist on calling me that, I don't like it!"

Prowl simply chuckled at the mech, pulling up a chair at the table. Sipping his Energon, the tactician made small talk to pass the time, "Mission went off without a hitch?" he asked.

"Yes it did, they have the Intel but I think their leader is a bit suspicious of us," Bolt replied, hoping onto the chair next to Prowl and then onto the table, making himself comfortable.

Frowning at the statement, Prowl wondered why, "What makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch," the wolf replied.

"Well, Prime isn't stupid, he's just naïve at times," Starscream added as he took the seat across from the tactician, Gufo perching herself on the table next to Bolt. He set down the two smaller energon cubes for the two younglings.

"I didn't expect Optimus to catch on so quickly. Must be the Prime in him. Speaking of which, when are we going to inform them where to find the relics. At the rate they're going, its going to be another hundred vorns before they find it."

"In due time Prowl. They actually already have all the clues, just need to connect them but Stridek's working on it," the seeker said.

"Hmm…Gufo what have you learned from your mission?"

The femme looked up at the tactician before replying to his inquiry, "It's getting increasing difficult getting intelligence from Kolkular, it's not that I can't hack into their systems, it's just…" the bird went quiet, slightly embarrassed at the reason why she couldn't do her part well.

"Just that she finds it difficult with the other ones there," Bolt finished for her to which she could only nod. Everyone knew the femme was very fond of their creators, so it didn't come as a surprise that she was feeling uncomfortable with her missions.

"Also, I still cannot find the location of the Robo-Smasher," she added in a small voice.

Starscream affectionately stroked her feathers before reassuring her, "Don't let it bother you, things will get sorted out soon and then you won't have to feel this way. Plus they are well on their way to defecting, we're just waiting for the right place and time. And don't worry about the device, we'll find it soon." Finishing his cube, Starscream stood to go, "I have a lot of work to finish, so I'll see you all tomorrow." The seeker put away the empty cube before exiting the Rec Room, picking up Menace on the way out.

As Prowl finished his own cube, his comm pinged with a message from Sideswipe; the warrior would be back in seven joors and needed someone to disable the perimeter alarms. Sending a confirmation back, Prowl let the two younglings know of Sideswipe's return before making his way back to his office. With nothing to do for the time being, the two decided to head to their quarters and check up on their siblings and creator.

* * *

><p><em>Author Notes:<em>

_I changed the name of Sentinel Prime's ship because the comic already has the Ark listed under Optimus and was built AFTER Sentinel disappeared. So, instead of going complicated and making it that it was duplicate made after Sentinel, I just used the name Sabre which is actually another ship from Generation 2 and is a Delta class strike ship._

_Don't forget to post reviews =)_


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Groundwork

There was a deathly silence in briefing room once the events of the past orn were described, no mech willing to voice their thoughts at the horror that was displayed on the viewer. Never did they think that the Decepticons would be bold enough to strike at the heart of Iacon, a well fortified city and the main capital of the Resistance. Obviously they had been mistaken; not only had they struck but they had gone through the city undetected, leaving the Resistance too late to save the Council.

"The situation is not good," Prowl continued his briefing, "we didn't receive any Intel regarding this strike against the Council. And we never knew the Decepticons were in the city."

Ratchet frowned at the tactician's statement, "What about the Intel from the Knights, aren't they the ones always on top of this type of stuff."

"Yes, I would think this information wouldn't be missed by them since all their Intel is so detail orientated," Smokescreen added.

"The last Intel we received from them didn't have anything about an attack on the Council. We don't know why, and I doubt we'll ever know. Either way we can't do anything about it now." The mech paused, looking at all the mechs present before continuing on, "But, when we were there, we did receive new Intel from them-"

"Is it trust worthy though, Jazz?" Red Alert questioned, suspicion getting the better of him.

"What do you mean Red?"

"What I'm getting at is, why would they give us other Intel but not this. It doesn't make any sense, maybe they're leading us into a trap or they're working for the Decepticons now, or-"

"Whoa Red, slow down; they aren't trapping us or anything, and they're definitely not working for the Decepticons."

"How can you be so sure Jazz? You've never seen any of them, let alone have any information regarding who they are or what their agenda is? For all we know this is just some Decepticon trick to catch us off guard," the security director continued, frustrated with the lack of proof.

"Because I trust Meister, he's helped us out a lot; not to mention the Knights have saved members of my team when they've gotten captured by Shockwave during missions. That's reason enough for me to trust the mech and his team, I may not know anything about them but I can tell you at least that he is sincere," the Special Ops mech defended.

Optimus knew this would not end well between the two, "Let's all calm down shall we. Red Alert, I appreciate your concern and I do agree with you-"

"Optimus!"

Holding his servo up to Jazz in a gesture of silence, the Resistance leader continued once he was sure his Third wouldn't interrupt him again, "I do agree with you in this regard, the mystery surrounding the mechs has me concerned because I like to know the identities of those I work with. But, I also agree with Jazz that this Meister has not led us astray; his Intel has been accurate every time and I cannot assume what plan Megatron could have that would entail letting us know about, almost, all of his operations. Wouldn't you agree?"

Red Alert could not disagree with his leader's line of reasoning, "Yes I do sir," replied the security mech softly. Jazz slumped back in his chair, letting the tension drain out of his frame and hoping no one noticed his rigidness. Prowl noticed it, though, as the mech had known Jazz longer than anyone, but decided on asking the saboteur about it later. Jazz didn't know why exactly this particular topic had him up in arms but he knew he had to defend Meister against the accusation. The mech had his reasons for not sharing his real identity and plus, everyone had secrets. Jazz had a few of his own that no one knew about, even his long time friend Prowl, but that didn't mean he was hiding something; it's just not anyone business to know about them.

"So, what's this new Intel on?"

Prowl had to hand it to the other tactician for the change in topic, "The Intel we received suggests that the Decepticons are mounting an attack against Nova Cronum."

"Nova Cronum," questioned Wheeljack, "Why Nova Cronum? That city doesn't possess any advantage for the Decepticons in this war. It's a haven for neutrals, they don't want any part in this war."

"Are we sure about this?" inquired Ratchet, which prompted a sigh from Jazz.

Optimus threw a sympathetic look towards the Special Ops mech, "No we are not and because of that, we have decided to send Jazz in to gather our own Intel."

"When will you be leaving?" Ironhide asked Jazz.

"In two orns, I want to get in there as soon as possible because Meister's info suggests they'll strike in six."

"Why not send someone else, like Mirage maybe?" Ultra Magnus asked.

_Finally! Someone who voiced the same question I have been asking_, Prowl thought; he had been asking that for the past joors and Jazz gave the same argument he had given Optimus and him, "Because I'm more experienced than Mirage at the moment and this mission could turn dangerous anytime so I don't want to send in an inexperienced mech just because of one ability he has."

"What about Gears?"

Jazz looked at Smokescreen, "No, we don't know what's out there and I don't want to risk any of my mechs when I don't have full Intel on the situation."

Truth was that Jazz always took the more dangerous missions upon himself; he didn't want any members of his team getting killed if he could do the same mission himself, but with better odds. Understanding this line of thought didn't mean Prowl had to agree with it because sometimes his battle computer showed better odds with someone other than Jazz, but the saboteur would never listen, saying that his battle computer couldn't take unknown events into consideration when they only had partial Intelligence.

"We have discussed this long and hard, Jazz will be going in to gather Intelligence. In the meantime, Ironhide I need a detailed report of all recruits who are battle ready," Optimus requested.

"You got it Optimus, give me a few joors."

"Thank you," he said before looking over at their chief medic, "Ratchet I know you do not approve of this but I'm requesting that you have all your medics, including yourself, trained in combat arts. I fear there will come a time when you will need to defend yourself."

Receiving a nod from the medic, he continued to the last two agendas of the briefing. "Red Alert, given the fact that you recently upgraded the security of the base, we will need you to work on the security of the city now. If you and Ultra Magnus can meet with the current head of the Enforcers and Elite Guard, maybe you can have their security tightened so the incident with the Council never happens again."

"Yes Sir, we'll head out as soon as we are done," was the prompt reply from the security mech.

"Lastly, Smokescreen I need an update on your reports about each of our members. We suspect there to be a spy amongst us and we need to flush him out. Meet with Prowl once you have gathered them and get to the bottom of this. I want to know how those Decepticons got past our security," finished the Resistance leader, nodding at Prowl.

The tactician looked at everyone present before wrapping up the briefing, "That's all for now, you all have your assignments. You're dismissed."

Everyone slowly filed out of the room, each going about the tasks handed to them. Ratchet was one of the last to leave, still thinking over what Optimus had asked for. He was spread thin already, teaching his student the ways of a medic, but now he had to set aside time for combat training and he was not looking forward to it at all. He was a medic, his job is to save mechs not kill them but if it were his intern versus them, he knew he would not have a choice. Ironhide saw the dilemma within the medic, and decided to talk to Ratchet about it, "Hey Ratch, wanna talk?"

Looking at the red mech, Ratchet thought about the offer for a bit before accepting it, deciding it couldn't hurt to talk about his troubles for once. He figured maybe Ironhide, of all, could understand where he was coming from and give some advise on the subject, "Sure Hide, Rec Room?"

"Why not," and the two departed for a long talk session, leaving Prowl and Jazz the last mechs in the room.

Prowl watched them leave before voicing his concerns regarding the saboteur's behaviour, "Jazz, can I have a moment of your time?"

The black and white mech turned towards the tactician, "Yeah Prowler, what's up?"

"Jazz, I believe you are getting too close to this Meister mech-," the tactician started, only to be cut off by Jazz.

"Not you too," groaned the saboteur, "listen I'm fine and before you say it; no, I'm not being influenced by Meister. Can't I defend someone without mechs thinking there's an alternative reasoning behind it."

"You know we do not believe that Jazz, but I need to be sure that this won't affect your duties. I need to be able to rely on you and so does Optimus. You're our Third in Command and Head of Special Operations, I don't think anyone else will ever be able to do the duties you have taken on."

Most mechs would react the wrong way after hearing what Prowl just said but Jazz had known him long enough to know exactly what the tactician meant. Where mechs would think that Prowl cared only about the Resistance and the asset for the cause, Jazz knew better; he knew this was just how he expressed his worry. Sighing, the saboteur assured his friend once again, "Don't worry, it won't affect my duties or my missions."

The tactician looked skeptical at first before smiling slightly, "Very well, I shall trust your word on this," and left the room with Jazz following along.

* * *

><p><em>Resistance Base - Rec Room<em>

It didn't take long for the two to reach the Rec Room, picking up two cubes of Energon as they reached the dispenser before taking a seat at one of the tables on the far side of the room. Neither said a word for a few kliks, enjoying the moment of peace but Ratchet knew it wouldn't last forever. He would have to encroach upon a topic he disliked more than anything, even the twin's pranks.

"So," the weapon's specialist started slowly, "what's on your processor Ratchet?" Ironhide started.

"Lots of things, I don't know Ironhide," the medic sighed, "I'm drowning in work as it is with training First Aid everything, on top of taking care of the Medbay; now I have to get combat training also. Plus, what's the point in medics learning how to fight, our frames aren't built for combat. We would be useless even if we knew how to defend ourselves."

"Ever thought of upgrading your armor?"

Ratchet shot the red mech a look as if he had lost his processor. Upgrading one's armor was unheard of since they didn't have much material to spare on mechs who had already received their final upgrade. "I'm a medic Hide, I can't have upgraded armor weighing me down when I'm needed on the field. Plus we don't have the resources to spare for it."

"It was just a thought, but if you can't do that then maybe we can add in a weapon system for you. That way you won't have to carry one around with you everywhere you go. I'll design one for you and one for Aid, it'll come in handy."

The medic only held up his servos before saying, "Can't, I need them for medical tools."

"I could design it such that you have an extra set of transformation sequences. Plus you still have your subspace pockets for storing tools."

"Yes but I can't go searching for tools in an emergency, that's why these are so effective."

"Ratch, you gotta make some sacrifices. I'm not saying it should hinder your skills as a medic but some tools that you don't use much can maybe be stored in subspace instead."

Ratchet looked down into the contents of his cube, wishing he hadn't left his stash of high grade when he had left his home. He knew why Optimus had brought it up but he didn't agree with it, though he would still follow the command.

Undeterred by the medics silence, Ironhide continued, "And, since an armor upgrade is out of the question, maybe we can get Wheeljack to work on a shield system. That way, the shield can absorb some of the damage giving you at least a fighting chance. What do you say?"

Ratchet gave the mech an unconvinced look, "And have it blow up inside of me? Not a chance!"

Smiling at the mention of the engineer's track record for getting his inventions blown to bits, Ironhide could actually picture that happening. "That would be funny. Maybe this time he'll fix you instead of the other way around."

"Hide!" Ratchet exclaimed but couldn't help the smile that formed at the joke. With renewed conviction, Ratchet looked up at the red mech with his answer, "Alright, but before you assign the training session, run it by me first please."

Ironhide smiled at the mech, "Sure thing Ratch," before grinning as he recalled the words Prowl had spoken when they had returned from the Council Towers. "So I heard the twins did a number on you."

Growling, Ratchet's mood changed from happy to pure anger in an instant and he cast the red mech the most venomous glare he had. "Do you know how long it took me to get my tools unstuck! Once those two are done with brig duty, I have a more painful stellar cycle in store for them, and when they're done, they'll wish they never pranked me off all mechs…"

Ironhide was rolling in laughter as the medic ranted on about the twins and what he would do to them once they got out. He felt a little bad for them but, then again, they deserved the wrath in many ways. Although no one else could bring out such a reaction from the medic, it was a love-hate relationship between the three. The two friends spent the next two joors talking about old times, the twins, and everything else that didn't involve the war.

* * *

><p><em>Several joors later - Borders of Kalis - Underground Base<em>

Prowl sat at one of the many consoles of the Command Centre of their base, looking over the last Intel Gufo had given. He was pondering if he should switch her up with Stridek as he knew that the bat didn't have any problems with their counterparts. Even thought she was their best information gatherer, she had voiced concerns with working inside Kaon and Prowl did not want to keep sending her for fear that she might make a mistake and get captured. Decision made, Prowl pulled up the upcoming mission list and went about switching the two.

It was getting late in orn and his systems were notifying him that it was time for recharge even though he hadn't been up for long. Ever since his stay on Earth and getting used to the orbital cycle there, he had been having a hard time adjusting to Cybertronian time. He found that peculiar as he had only been on Earth for a mere three Earth months and yet, over a hundred vorns on Cybertron was not enough for him to get used to Cybertronian time; he could understand with the other four as they had been on Earth far longer than he had but he didn't have an explanation for himself. Sighing despondently, Prowl sent out a ping to Sideswipe's comm in order to find out his position.

While he waited for a response, he went back to the upcoming mission list, looking over their next move to pass the time. The one which was top on their list was the attack on Nova Cronum and he had to decide who to send depending on the Intel Stridek brought back. It wasn't too long before Sideswipe sent a message back indicated he was almost at the base and that he had Stridek with him also; apparently the two had met up once the cyber bat had informed the warrior that he had important information for Prowl. That would explain Sideswipe's tardiness but Prowl let it slide, as he had been doing for the past vorns. Prowl didn't have to wait long for the two to appear on the external cameras, and disabled the proximity alarms and traps before deactivating the holo emitters over the platform. Prowl waited for the two to board the platform before re-engaged everything and leaving the Command Centre to meet the two.

He entered the Bay just as the silver warrior let the bat out of his alt mode, before transforming to his bi-pedal mode. As soon as Stridek saw Prowl, he immediately flew over and started babbling away about what he had heard, "Prowl, you need ta hear this. I was listenin' to their briefin' an' they said all this stuff about not trustin' us an' that they're gonna check up on the Intel an' that they're sendin' in a mech undercover, an'-"

"Stridek stop, you're going too fast and I can't understand everything your saying," Prowl said, holding his servos up in a halt gesture.

The purple mech looked embarrassed, "Sorry."

Smiling, Prowl continued, "Now, start from the beginning. How did your recon go?"

"Fine I guess, Optimus called a briefing right after they looked over the Nova Cronum Intel. Because we didn't inform them of the attack on the Council, they don't trust our Intel a hundred percent."

Prowl gave a look of understanding, figuring that it had been his counterpart that came to this conclusion because he would have done the same. "What do they plan on doing about it?"

Stridek stayed silent for a klik, recalling everything said in the briefing, "They are sending Jazz-"

"Jazz?" questioned the tactician.

"Yes Jazz. They are sending him in to seek out Intel but they are also preparing everyone in case the Decepticons do attack. They did listen to your recommendations that Ratchet and his crew get combat training."

"Jazz huh?" the tactician wondered out loud with a tiny smile, almost ignoring Stridek's report about his recommendations.

Sideswipe frowned, "Prowl, wasn't that mission supposed to have been carried out by Gears? And didn't he get killed when the Decepticons found him?"

"Yes, it is. But I knew that there was a chance Jazz would take the mission instead, in fact I was counting on it."

"What!" the other two mech's exclaimed, "Are you serious?"

"Yes I am Stridek, I knew Jazz would not sit around while Intel was handed to him. Plus he had indicated that he wanted to talk to me, so I added an encrypted message for him saying that I would meet with him only if he were alone and away from Iacon."

"You did what! Prowl we agreed we would not show ourselves to anyone. Weren't you listening to a single word Screamer said to us when we decided to do this? And the conversation I caught in the Rec Room is just talk, don't take it to be true," the silver warrior asked.

Prowl calmly looked at Sideswipe, "I understand that and my battle computer has given me the possible scenarios, but we need someone on the inside to trust us and if an appearance will do that then so be it. Plus, one of us would have had to get Gears out, so it doesn't make a difference if it's Jazz instead."

"Yes it does, Gears would never see who ever is sent in. Look I know you miss our Jazz, but this isn't the way to go about it. This Jazz has another Prowl, don't put yourself in that position," Sideswipe pleaded.

Prowl sighed at the warriors tone, "It's not that and trust me when I say that I will not allow my feelings to jeopardize our mission. I just feel that other than my counterpart, Jazz is the only one I can trust to listen without being skeptical. And right now, if what Stridek said is true, we need the support because we can't have them straying away from the Intel we are giving them. That would be even more detrimental to what we are trying to achieve than meeting Jazz."

Sideswipe looked unconvinced and so, Prowl tried once more, "With Gears, there is a 89% chance that we would have to show ourselves to him. Instead of him, Jazz would be a better option not only because of his rank but for the fact of what I know about him. He is already curious because I'm using his old designation, one that no one other than myself should know about."

"I'm assuming there's a reason why you're not going to the other Prowl?" Stridek asked.

"Yes there is. I know myself and if someone I do not know approached me, I would be very skeptical and I won't listen to anything said. Instead I'll go by whatever my battle computer tells me. This is the old me we are talking about, the one who relied solely on statistics."

Sideswipe sighed at the tactician, knowing how he felt, and knowing how badly Prowl would feel after meeting Jazz with the fact that he'll never be able to have the time they shared before Earth. He, himself wished he could see his twin but deep in his spark, he knew his twin was gone; this Sunstreaker was not the same and had another Sideswipe for him. He was his brother but at the same time he wasn't, and he realized that after spending many orns following the twins around. One day, Ratchet had sat him down and talked him out of doing it any longer because he was only torturing himself. He would never be able to speak to this Sunstreaker, let alone spend any time with him. He had to learn to let it go, and he had partially but there was no way he could let go of it fully. "Alright, I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. If you need any of us, you know where to find us."

And with that the warrior left, intent on seeking out the one mech who could make him feel better. He spent most of the recent orns trying his best not to think about his twin, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with his involvement in the Resistance. He sometimes regretted his decision of accepting the mission Prowl had handed him within the Resistance. His time at their base was painful and now, he avoided the twins every chance he got.

Prowl watched Sideswipe leave the hanger sadly, knowing he had opened wounds that were better left closed. He hadn't wished to involve Sideswipe in this matter knowing how hard it was for the warrior already to be working almost side by side with his twin. The only reason Sideswipe was still online was because of the sacrifice Ratchet had made in order to save the remaining twin. Losing Jazz was in no way comparable to losing Sunstreaker; twin bonds were mostly unknown knowledge amongst Cybertronian with no one really having the time to do research on the topic within a war. But Ratchet had spent long orns doing his research and ironically, it had paid off in the end, even though the price had been high.

Shaking his helm, Prowl turned to Stridek, "Thank you, send me your full report later. Also, there's another matter I need to inform you about. Gufo is having trouble gathering Intel within Kaon and I think you already know why. I have switched the two of you up for your next missions. Gufo will keep an eye on the Resistance and you will keep an on the Decepticons. I'll brief you later about it, but for now you have the next three orns off."

* * *

><p><em>Borders of Kalis - Underground Base - Medical Wing<em>

Sideswipe walked down the hallways of the Medical Wing, recalling the conversation with Prowl. Even after so long, the thought of his twin brought painful memories to the silver warrior.

_*flashback*_

_All around them was chaos as the Decepticons were relentless in their attack at Tyger Pax. The Autobots were losing and they knew it but nothing could be done about it other than hoping for a miracle. _

_Amongst the chaos, Sideswipe frantically tried to reason with his twin, "Sunny, we need to fallback."_

_"No!" came the determined answer as the golden twin tore off the arm of an unfortunate con._

_"We don't have a choice in the matter. Ironhide's out for good this time, and we just lost Brawn and Cliffjumper. We need to fallback and regroup with the others."_

_Growling in frustration, Sunny turned around and claimed a head shot on a con that tried to sneak up on them before yelling back, "If we fallback, the cons are going to head straight for Ratchet and First Aid. I'm not about to let that happen!"_

_That's when they heard Prime shout over the comm to fallback over their comms, "Everyone, fall back towards the center of the city."_

_*end of flashback*_

Shaking his helm at the memories, Sideswipe wished he could forget the events that transpired after. The two of them had always been protective of Ratchet, and Ratchet blamed himself for Sunny's death but Sideswipe would never blame the medic. He wasn't a warrior back then and his first priority was to the lives of his patients, but Sunstreaker had not wanted to fallback for fear that their defenseless medic would have been the con's next target. Unwilling to dwell on the past, Sideswipe hasten his pace towards the Med Bay.

Upon entering Ratchet's domain, he found the medic in one of his main training sessions with Soundwave's youngest, Glint. The cat former had grown attached to the grumpy, old medic and wanted to be one herself. She would listen intently to his wisdom as a medic and Ratchet in turn, would pour out his knowledge for her. This arrangement worked well for Ratchet as he had not taken a student since First Aid's death and also felt that he wasn't contributing towards their mission as he was just a medic. Outside of the cat's chosen profession, she was also a skilled tracker like Bolt but had yet to carry out a mission due to her young age. Prowl's response is always that the time will come for her, but only once she finishes her training with Ratchet.

"Hey you two," Sideswipe greeted them as he made his way across the Bay.

"Your back early, thought you weren't due for another orn?" Ratchet questioned even though he had an inkling as to why the corvette was back early.

Putting on a fake smile, Sideswipe decided to go with the flow, "Eh you know how it is, nothing special going on around there. I asked for some leave time and I got it, so I decided that I'd spend the time bugging you."

"I feel flattered," Ratchet muttered sarcastically, though the expression on his faceplates didn't mirror his tone. "Anything new going on there?"

"The usual every orn occurrence, you know."

"What did the hellions do this time?"

"Remember the time when Sunny and I glued your tools to the ceiling," Sideswipes said earning a growl from the older bot. A genuine grin graced the faceplates of the warrior; even after so many vorns without his twin, the idea of pranking Ratchet was music to his audios. "The good old days as the humans say," he said fondly before turning his attention towards Glint, "So what have you two been upto?"

Ecstatic at the question, the cat former prattled away about what she had learned all orn from Ratchet and the things he had allowed her to do, including repairs on Starscream when one of his inventions went off due to mis-wiring. The seeker had come in with a half blown servo and fried circuitry earlier in the orn, grumbling that his recent experiment blew up because of a miscalculation on his part. Ever since landing in this Cybertron, Starscream had gone back to his passion for science and left the leading and tactical work to Prowl. Completely out of character for the Air Commander they had once knew, it seemed that Starscream had found a comfort zone in a past he couldn't dream of having ever again. He was constantly tinkering with something, tweaking equipment to perform different tasks or even building new devices for the team to use. He was also responsible for designing the frames for the little ones, including a unique ability or weapon for each of them.

Sideswipe had a thoughtful expression once Glint finished her story, "Huh really…so Ratch, when did we pick up Wheeljack?"

Glint looked at Sideswipe with confusion while Ratchet grimaced at the mention of the engineer, "Whose Wheeljack, Ratchet?"

"An old friend of ours."

"Yeah, one that liked to blow himself up a lot," Sideswipe said amusedly.

"He's still a brilliant engineer, just that his inventions never seem to stay intact," Ratchet gave the cat an annoyed look, "they always blew up."

Glint looked confused, "How is he brilliant if his inventions blow up?"

"Let's just say kiddo, that sometimes being brilliant doesn't mean you can't make mistakes," Sideswipes replied with a smile before petting her.

"Can I meet him?" came the innocent question they knew would be asked. Being the youngest, Glint was the only one amongst her siblings who was extremely social and naïve, always wanting to meet new mechs and femmes.

"No youngling, you cannot. But you will when your older," responded Ratchet softly to which Glint looked heartbroken.

"Yeah kiddo, you'll get to meet everyone we've told you about. You just have to be patient," Sideswipe assured her.

They were saved from further questions or requests with Soundwave's entrance. Time had slipped past quickly with Glint's training that Ratchet had forgotten it was nearing the time when the comm specialist would pick up his youngest. It had become a daily routine as the cat would become so captivated by the knowledge that she would not want to leave. This had added to the work load Soundwave already possessed; once the younglings training had completed, Prowl had started them on light missions but even so, Soundwave was extra cautious unlike with his previous ones, who had more time to train and so, didn't need as much supervision. It's not that he didn't have faith in them but that he had lost faith in himself to protect them and he would go to the pits before he allowed any of them to suffer or offline.

"Ratchet, Sideswipe," he greeted the mechs.

Grinning at the mech, Sideswipe put on his best human impression, "Yo Wave, what up?" but only received a baffled look in return.

Soundwave looked up at the ceiling before looking back at the warrior, "The city?" he questioned while pointing upwards.

Ratchet couldn't hold his amusement and started howling with laughter at the warrior's attempt. Sideswipe gave the medic a dirty look, "No Soundwave, it's a human expression for what's going on."

"Oh," the mech blinked, before replying, "Nothing is going on then. I'm just here to pick up Glint."

"Never mind."

Ratchet just kept laughing, "You..ah..really never…haha…learn do you!"

"Shut up you old mech!" the warrior growled before picking up the nearest tool and proceeding to fling it at the medic. Ratchet stepped aside in the nick of time to avoid the tool, which just happened to be a frame welder. The welder impacted with the wall behind the yellow mech and broke apart.

Sideswipe looked at the pieces of the once known welder with wide optics before jumping in fear as Ratchet rounded on him, "Sideswipe I needed that!"

* * *

><p><em>Kaon - Decepticon Headquarters<em>

Shockwave entered the main building of their headquarters with trepidation; summons from their leader usually meant punishment and he could not fathom what mistake he had made. As he made his way up to Megatron's office, he passed several new Decepticons that he was not aware of, particularly a group of six bulky mechs who looked to be engineers and construction mechs instead of warriors, _What would Megatron want with these mechs?_, the mech thought. Making a note to ask someone about it later, he continued on towards his destination. Mechs passing him in the hallways greeted him as he made his way to the Command Level where all senior Decepticon Officers had their offices and quarters.

As he approached the doors to Megatron's office, he became anxious at the impending meeting. The Lord Protector was not known for his patience and there was a rumor that he takes his anger out on his troops for failure. Outwardly, to any passing mech, Shockwave was the epitome of calm as he kept his expression clear and movements fluid but to mechs that knew the Commander, they would see dread and anxiousness. He waited a few kliks before pressing the chime by the door to announce his presence, "Enter" he heard a powerful voice from inside beckon. Keying the door controls, Shockwave stepped inside as the doors parted.

Megatron looked up from the datapad he was reading to acknowledge the Commander's presence, "Ah Shockwave, I have been waiting for you."

"My lord, how may I assist you?"

"I need an update on the situation at Tarn, and I'm in need of more troops."

"The population still favours us over the Resistance, though there has been a few resistance but they have been taken care of. As for more troops, I will send for more drones for you and I believe we have some new seekers that you might be interested in."

"Excellent Shockwave," the silver warlord said, pleased with the news.

Shockwave tentatively looked up at the warlord, wondering if he should ask the question he knew that may anger the warlord and offline him. Curiosity winning the battle over fright, he went ahead, "Sir, may I ask the reason behind the extra troops?"

Megatron looked up sharply at the Military Operations Commander with disapproval, "Are you questioning me Shockwave?"

"No sir, not at all. I'm merely wondering what your plans may be."

"If I wanted you to know what I had planned, then I would tell you!" the warlord bellowed as he stood.

"Yes my Lord, my apologies."

Megatron gave a skeptical look before turning towards the skylight behind him, "But because you are my most loyal follower, I will appraise you of my plans". Turning back towards Shockwave, he began explaining his plans for Nova Cronum, which was set to begin in six orns. Once he was finished, Shockwave took his leave to arrange for the troops Megatron had asked for.


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Beware a Medic's Wrath

The next orn found Ratchet looking up the training information that Ironhide had sent him. The base was relatively calm and quiet as he made his way to the Rec Room for his Energon; this was unusual as the hallways were always littered with mechs going about their duties regardless of what time it was. But this silence came with the preparation of combat in case the Decepticons were to strike. He had with him a datapad with a transient schedule for him and his crew. The Weapons Specialist had also included designs for the weapon systems he had promised Ratchet along with an outline of a shield design from Wheeljack.

As he turned the corner towards the Rec Room entrance, he was greeting with the sight of Hound coming down the opposite hallway, also on his way to the Rec Room. "Hound," the medic greeted.

"Hey Ratchet, your earlier than usual."

Ratchet held up the datapad, "I have some extra work to cover, thought I'd get it done before shift."

"Is that the weapon designs from Ironhide?" asked the green mech, noticed the markings on the datapad.

"Yes, along with something from Wheeljack."

"Sure it won't blow up," Hound asked playfully before ducking into the Rec Room.

Ratchet shook his helm at the younger one's antics, "younglings…"

Stepping into the Rec Room, the medic was faced with a very amusing scene. There, at one of the front most tables were Bulkhead, Jolt and Blaster playfully picking on one of their younger recruits, Bumblebee. While the three were laughing at the smaller mech, the yellow youngling was grumbling on about how his friends were always mean to him.

Bulkhead playfully punched the yellow mech, "I'm just busting your bumpers little buddy."

"Little buddy!" exclaimed Bumblebee, "Why does it have to be little buddy, why can't it just be buddy!"

Jolt and Blaster kept laughing at the expense of the smaller mech as Hound walked up to their table with two cubes of Energon, beckoning Ratchet. The medic decided it couldn't hurt to join them even if he knew he wouldn't get his reading done, "What's his problem?"

"Ratcheeeeeet! They're being mean to me," whined the youngling.

"We're just having a little fun, don't go getting mad."

Bumblebee slid lower into his seat at Jolt statement, mumbling and pouting. "You try enjoying yourself with everyone poking fun at you about your size" eliciting more laughter from everyone at the table. Bumblebee was one of the few younglings who had joined the Resistance; the mech, alongside Bulkhead and Jolt, used to work maintenance before finding themselves at the entrance of the Resistance Base. As the orns past, it seemed they were getting more younglings than mechs and, even though Ratchet didn't agree with allowing younglings to join, they weren't left with a choice in the matter. Most of the military had sided with Megatron, and the mech had taken over all military institutions including the drone factories and Tarn, the military capital of Cybertron.

Even so, this was all they had left to treasure in this war; younglings, laughter, happiness, things that were too few and far in between. The stability that Sentinel Prime had established was gone, with only chaos left in its stead. As much as the Resistance tried their best to gather against the Decepticons, in the end they were still a group of inexperienced mechs compared to the cons. To top things off, they had yet to see a full fledge battle as the Intel from the Knights were helping them avoid confrontation all together. This gave the wrong perception to the mechs joining the Resistance and Ratchet feared that the orn a battle does break out between them and the Decepticons, the casualty will be high on their side.

At the pouting look the smaller yellow bot was throwing around the table, Blaster decided it was time for a change in topics, "So, how's the training going Ratchet?"

"Haven't started it yet, in fact that was what I was going to look over before joining you lot."

"I don't see the point of having medics go through combat training," Jolt huffed.

"You have combat training and yet, you're going through field medic training also."

"It's not the same Bee. It's not like I chose to train as a medic, I'm being forced!" grumbled the blue mech.

"Keep keening like a little sparkling."

"I will until every mech understands that it's not by choice and that you're forcing me!" pointing at Ratchet.

"Can't make you do something you don't want to," the older mech replied.

This just infuriated the blue one, "Urgh, I'm never going to win this stupid argument."

Blaster snickered at his friend, "Now, now don't get so mad. You know he's doing it on purpose just to get a reaction out of you."

"And you give it every time," Hound commented, resuming the teasing, only this time instead of Bumblebee, it was Jolt who was the centre of the tease.

"So, what's the schedule like?" inquired Bumblebee good-naturedly.

Ratchet brought up the information from the weapons specialist, "Let's see". Always neat and thorough about his work, Ironhide had separated the information according to mech, then further divided into three categories: schedule, weapons/shields specs and trainer information per mech. The mechs listed were himself, First Aid and Jolt as they were currently the only medics on base. Why Ironhide had placed Jolt on the list baffled Ratchet, but he would ask the red mech about it later. For now he wanted to look up what the battle hardened mech had in stall for him. Skipping over the schedule and specs information, Ratchet went straight for the trainer part and froze at the names. The others noticed the sudden rigidness and feared that the medic's infamous temper had been provoked.

"Uh Ratchet," Hound tried tentatively, "You ok? You seem a little, uh, put off?"

Snapping out of his stupor, Ratchet growled before standing, "That fragger! I'm going to dismantle his cannons and shove it up his aft once I'm through with him". Walking off, the medic disappeared through the Rec Room doors, datapad and energon forgotten.

Jolt picked up the pad to see what had ticked off his senior and promptly fell over in laughter at the contents. The others looked at him as if he had gone insane, "Not you too, what's on that stupid datapad," Bumblebee asked before snatching the pad out of Jolt's servo.

_Trainer details_

_Recommended trainer(s): The twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker_

_Recommendation made by: Combat Instructor Ironhide_

_Approved by: Chief Tactician Prowl and Resistance Leader Optimus_

The mech's optics brightened as he finished reading, "oooooooo, Hide just dug his grave."

* * *

><p><em>Kalis - Underground Base<em>

Starscream silently walked out his lab, heading across the hallway towards his quarters. The orn had been long, with the mistakes he had made that landed him in the Medical Bay for a good three joors. He was now officially behind schedule and wasn't happy about it one bit. Time, it seemed, had been against him ever since he started on his current project and it was becoming considerably harder completing it alone.

Keying the access codes, he slipped in as the door opened, noting the darkness within the room. It was early in the orn but for him, it felt like night fall as he was still used to Earth time. Walking up to his desk, he deposited the two datapads he had been carrying before making his way to his berth room. Passing through the threshold, he noted the emptiness within the room before letting himself drop onto the berth. Content with the silence, the seeker offlined his optics, settling down for recharge but it seemed the world had other ideas for him, "You're back later than usual?" asked a soft, quiet voice from the darkness.

Groaning, Starscream simply rolled away from the voice, "It's slagging too late for an interrogation."

The mech simply cocked his helm slightly at the seeker's tone, "Statement: you have been neglecting the younglings."

The seeker unwillingly rose from his prone position, "I've been busy! Wait, didn't I fix that glitch of yours, why are you talking like that again?" The seeker gave the mech a questioning look before flopping back down onto the berth, "Plus it's not like I'm just loafing around. I actually have a lot of work to cover."

Soundwave merely gave the flyer a dubious look, "then take a break or ask for help?"

"Help?" Starscream screeched as he bolted up, "Did you misplace your processor, who exactly am I going to ask for help?"

"You could ask me, I am a quick learner."

Starscream gave the mech an angry look, "No offense but if I was going to ask anyone for help, it would not be you. It would be Sky-". Starscream quickly disconnected his vocalizer, realizing what he was about to say but the damage had already been done. The seeker gazed at the mech for a few kliks, looking for any hint of emotion but saw none. This had become an on-going argument between the two, mostly because every time Starscream shirked his duty as a creator, Soundwave took it as a personal insult. The old him would not have cared much but not who he was now; he felt bad for not spending enough time with the younglings but he could not help himself when it came to science. Much like Glint, he had a tendency of becoming engrossed in his work to the point that he would forget all else. And without help, he ended up spending more time than required at finishing his projects.

Soundwave stayed quiet at what was said, much like he usually did; he knew what the seeker was about to say and it were times like this that he was grateful for the level of emotional discipline he possessed, along with his visor and face guard. He had learned a long time ago that one's emotions would only be used against oneself by others and he made sure never to give that type of opportunity to anyone. That mentality had changed slightly since the events created by Wheeljack's device, but only after he got to know and trust Prowl, Ratchet, Sideswipe and Starscream; with others who he did not trust, they would see the mask that he was well-known for. Still, habits die hard and sometimes, Soundwave unconsciously fell back on his past ideals, even amongst the other four. So, after giving the mech a few kliks, he simply nodded and headed for the doorway.

"Wave, wait." Starscream called out, " I didn't mean what I said". Releasing a sigh, the mech decided to try and compromise, "Listen, I'll stop working on my project for the next orn though I won't need your help. Thank you but I know you have a lot of work of your own and I can manage. I'll try my best from now on to spend more time with the younglings."

Soundwave gave a few kliks to think about what the seeker said but wasn't given a chance to reply as Bolt walked into the room, looking from one to the other. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," came the immediate response from the seeker but the cyber wolf looked unconvinced. Frowning, Bolt turned his gaze towards Soundwave, looking for acknowledgement. He didn't have to wait long to receive a nod, but still he didn't believe either mech.

"We're not sparklings anymore, we do know when you two are arguing even if you suppress your end of the bond."

Before Soundwave could say or do anything, Starscream got up and ushered the cyber wolf out. "We weren't arguing…not really", he added as he walked towards the slightly large settee in the main room. Glint was curled up on one side of large furniture with Gufo perched on the arm-rest next to her, the two talking softly with each other. As human society had left a rather large mark on them, they had integrated aspects of it into their own culture and way of life. The settee was just one of the many things they had picked up from the organic culture. Approaching it, Starscream scooped Glint up before sitting himself down in her spot, placing her on his lap and petting her. The cat former simply purred at the attention; being the youngest of the six, she loved all the attention she got from both Soundwave and Starscream.

"What were you two talking about?" the seeker asked casually.

Gufo simply nibbled on his servo with her beak. "Ah that. Yes, I made a mistake and paid the price," he said looking at his servo as Bolt sat at his pedes. "So, what have you lot found out in your many….adventures?"

Bolt snorted at the word 'adventure' as their missions were nothing of the sort; they were the equivalent of the Resistance's Special Operations forces, just tinier. "You already know what Gufo and I found out."

"Yes but Soundwave doesn't know but I suspect you found out on your own," Starscream commented, looking at the dark blue mech.

"That is true, but I do not know what Stridek found out."

At the mention of his name, the cyber bat decided to come out of the dark corner in the ceiling he had settled in. "Once they came back from the Council and looked at the new Intelligence, Prowl called for an officer meeting. There were some reservations brought to the table about us; a few of them do not trust us because we did not impart Intelligence regarding the Council assassination, particularly Red Alert but it seems Optimus shares a little bit of the doubt. And they're sending Jazz into Nova Cronum in two orns to get their own Intel on the situation."

Starscream turned his gaze onto Soundwave, "that was the one where we had captured Gears and found out where the Autobots were rallying. The same can't happen to Jazz."

"Agreed," came the reply from the comms mech.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, Meister's going in to talk to him and retrieve him if his mission is to go afoul."

"What!" exclaimed the seeker in shock.

"Reasoning behind this?" Soundwave inquired almost immediately.

"All he told me was that within the last Intel package, he left a cryptic message for Jazz, stating that he would meet with him only if the mech were away from any other Resistance member or bases. He believes that Jazz would be our best option in gaining an ardent ally within the Resistance."

"That would make some sense," Bolt said, cutting into the conversation, "if there is at least one person who knows the extent of what we are trying to achieve, especially one high up in the chain of command, we would be able to attain our goals faster. If people like Red Alert start questioning us, they will start making irrational decisions based on distrust and skepticism. I'm pretty sure Meister's worked out the scenarios if he's going to meet Jazz at Nova Cronum."

"Even still, Jazz cannot find out his identity or know anything about the events that will happen in the distant future," Gufo argued. "I'm not saying that Meister would give out that sort of information. I'm saying that it's Jazz we should be worried about. From everything I have heard about him, he's very perceptive and good at deciphering that which you do not want him to. It won't take him long to figure out who Meister really is. Isn't that why he's known to be the best Special Ops mech this side of the galaxy?"

"Yes it is, what else happened in the officers meeting?" questioned Soundwave.

"The rest of the suggestion we gave them were followed, they are rallying everyone they have. Optimus also has Ironhide heading combat training for the medics and they are trying to find out the spy amongst them whose been giving the Decepticons information. Siders has to be careful now, seems he isn't the only one undercover there."

Starscream and Soundwave shared a known look, "I think we may already know who the spy is amongst them."

"What do you mean?" asked Glint.

"They don't have an undercover operative per se," Starscream explained, "what they have is a very small spy."

The four smaller mechs looked up at Soundwave at the mention of the small spy, "Amongst my previous creations are two spies, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw. It is most definitely one or both of them spying on the Resistance for information. But I do not think all the information they collect is being relayed to Megatron. If that were the case, then Megatron would have struck Iacon instead of going after Nova Cronum."

"No they're not; the message has been heeded and they are following it subtly. But I think Megatron may have an idea as to what's happening. The mech's smart and he's not sharing all of his plans with his Second and Third in Command. There's something more going on that I can't figure out," Gufo said in a frustrated tone.

"Either way we cannot allow either of them to be found," Starscream said, "I'll talk to Prowl about it after I get some recharge. I'll ask him what he has planned for the next stage."

* * *

><p><em>Iacon - Resistance Base<em>

Jazz had been playing the message from Meister since early in the orn, listening for any noise that could hint at the location of the mysterious mech, but it seemed the mech had done an excellent job of covering it up. Every time the Special Ops mech thought he had Meister figured out, the mech would throw a new variance at him. Even Prowl was left hanging when it came to this mech; it was as if the mech knew them better than they knew themselves but that was impossible. Prowl and him had only met when they were placed on the same enforcer team and it was highly unlikely that they would have an old acquaintance in common.

Frustrated at the fact that he wasn't getting anywhere with the message, Jazz shut down the terminal after playing the message one last time. Little did the mech know that there was another occupant in the room, silently recording the message as it played. Laserbeak watched the message intently, curious as to how the Knights were getting their information. He would report this information to Soundwave but it would not go to Megatron.

Unbeknownst to the Resistance, Soundwave had received a very strange message late one orn, from a mech who referred to himself as Soundblaster. The message had contained information that no one should have known about and so, Soundwave had decided to heed the warning within it. The communication specialist had busied himself with finding out anything and everything about Soundblaster, and how the mech knew so much about him that no one else should. Once the message ended, Laserbeak slowly crept his way out of the base using the small maintenance shafts.

Jazz left the room in dysphoria, wondering why for all his Special Ops training, he couldn't track down one mech; just one mech who seemed to be the leader of the Knights and have ubiquitous knowledge on anything regarding the Decepticons and the Resistance. He had many questions, questions that he feared may not be answered in two orns, but he needed answers badly. He was known to be the mech with all the information and not knowing something made him restive. His upbeat personality had dwindled a bit since Meister started throwing tidbits of his life at him within the Intel packages. His demeanor hadn't changed drastically as the resident morale officer side of him was still there in the presence of the majority of his friends and allies, but amongst his close friends he would become somber.

Hearing a distant voice, the mech focused on his surrounding; without thinking, Jazz had made his way to the Training Hall and he could hear someone arguing loudly from inside one of the mid-size rooms, the very same room that had a couple of young mechs huddled over each other at the edge of the doorway, peeking in and watching the commotion inside. Seeing this, Jazz decided to break up the party since the early shifts were about to begin; walking over to the mechs, Jazz peered around from behind them and whispered softly, "What's going on guys?"

The mech at the bottom of the group whispered back, "The Hatchet's really mad at Hide."

"Really? Why?" Jazz asked innocently.

"Because he put the twins as his trainers, this is awesome! Now I can finally get my revenge for all the field medic training I've been put through," said another mech happily.

"Really? I don't think they're that bad, they do have a lot of skill."

The first mech jerked at that, and turned around. "Are you nuts? Everyone knows the twins are insane and dangerous, who in their right processor would…want…them…as…trainers," the youngling mumbled off as he looked up and realized who the mech he was talking to was. Jazz simply flashed him a grin, as if daring him to continue. "Scrap," the youngling squeaked, gaining the attention of the other three present.

"What do you mean-" Bulkhead cut himself off as he and the remaining two saw who the mech they had been talking to, "…scrap?" the mech finished softly

"Bumblebee was it?" Jazz asked innocently.

"Yes sir," the mech stammered as he hurriedly straightened from his position to address his senior.

"Your new to Ops, aren't you?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, don't you have a shift starting in, oh I dunno, three breems."

"…" Bumblebee could only nod, vocalizer tied in the presence of his team leader.

"Well then, you better get going or you're going to be late," Jazz said, flashing the mech another grin.

"Yes sir," the youngling squeaked in a high pitched tone before jetting out of there. Jazz turned his gaze to the other two younglings, giving them a bland look; Jolt and Bulkhead didn't need words to understand the meaning behind the look they were receiving.

"We'll be on our way," the two turned before sprinting off after their friend, "Wait for us Bumblebee!"

Jazz started laughing the klik the younglings were out of audio range, "Do you really have to do that every time we get new recruits?"

"Come on Hound, lighten up. You enjoy the reactions I get so don't act like you don't."

"I enjoy it now, but I didn't when you did it to me the orn I joined Ops," Hounds said lightly, smiling at the memory of his first encounter with Jazz.

The two shared a few chuckles before Ratchet's angry voice brought them back to the reason they were in the Training Hall. Sighing, Jazz made his way into the room to try and calm Ratchet down, "Hey old mech, what's got-" but before he could finish, Jazz had to quickly duck in order to avoid the incoming wrench.

"Not a word out of that vocalizer of yours," Ratchet threatened, pointing another wrench in Jazz's direction. The mech simple raised his servos in a show of surrender but Ratchet suddenly turned around in the opposite direction and flung his wrench, "And don't you, even for an astrosecond, think you can escape from this because of him," the medic shouted at a retreating Ironhide.

"Listen Ratch, can we talk about this like civilized mechs?" the weapons specialist tried once again to reason with the enraged medic.

If looks could kill, Ironhide would have been offlined at that moment, "Civilized? I have two clowns for trainers all because of your recommendation!"

"It's not that bad Rat-" Ironhide ducked another wrench.

"Not that bad!" Angry, the medic flung another tool at the mech.

Hound and Jazz simply stood by, watching the medic throw tool after tool at the other mech, not wanting to interfere for fear of being the next victims of Ratchet's temper. "You know, I don't think Ratchet needs combat training," Hound whispered to his fellow Ops mech. "I think he could scare cons away just by waving his favourite wrench in the air. Primus knows being the object of the mech's anger is worse than Unicorn's spawn."

"I heard that Hound!" Ratchet flung another wrench at the two which they were able to avoid.

"Sheesh! Where's he getting all those wrenches?" Jazz exclaimed, "I didn't think we had that many in stock!"

"What do you know, an indefinite supply of wrenches at the mad medic's disposal," Hound muttered. "Can things get any worse?"

At those words, Jazz's comm crackled to life, _"Prowl to Jazz"_.

The mech sighed at the tone, _"Go ahead."_

"_Your needed in the Rec Room. Seems the twins have started some trouble there."_

_"You let them out already?"_ Jazz said, surprised. _"I thought they had a stellar cycle to spend in the brig."_

_"Ironhide appealed their case since they will be working on Ratchet's training,"_ the tactician replied. _"He had hoped to get the training started immediately so as to avoid Ratchet's wrath."_

_"Fat load of good it's doing him-"_ Jazz ducked as a wrench flew his way.

"I heard that too! And you tell Prowl that when I find him, I'm going to reformat him into a cleaning droid!"

_"You approved the Hatchet's training with the twins? Are you trying to offline us all!"_ the Special Ops mech cried.

_"Can we not discuss this on an open comm channel,"_ the mech asked, exasperated at the turn of events.

* * *

><p><em>Bit of a short chapter due to exams and a bit of writter's block. Please review.<em>


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